


Biscuit

by CalmBeforeAStorm



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Babysitting, Friendship, Gen, Nicknames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 22:58:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12220671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalmBeforeAStorm/pseuds/CalmBeforeAStorm
Summary: Clary is in the kitchen with Magnus, helping him make Manhattans. He tells her how she got her nickname.Or:The origins of 'Biscuit'





	Biscuit

‘Do you have a recycling bin?'

‘Yeah, just under the sink there, Biscuit’

Clary crouched down and opened the doors beneath the sink in Magnus’ kitchen, cramming her scrapped sketches into the bin she found. That done, she stood smoothly, turning to watch Magnus and he finished making Manhattans for everyone. There was something oddly comforting about his graceful movements.

The sound of laughter and snatches of conversation drifted into the room, filling the gap created by their companionable silence. Their friends were outside, enjoying a rare, relaxing day together on the terrace with one of the best views going of the sunset over the city.  
Clary smiled as she thought back to her first proper meeting with Magnus. She had been bewildered, frightened, hostile, he had been tense and cautious, but still anxious to offer her protection. She would never have imagined that a year later she’d be here in his flat as a friend, helping him take drinks out to their shared group of friends.  
A thought suddenly came to her, one which has crossed her mind occasionally but usually been promptly brushed aside.

'Magnus?'

He looked up at her, kind brown eyes lined with shimmering gold, just like the night when he’d told her about her father.

‘Yes?'

She smiled.  
'Why do you call me Biscuit?'

Magnus looked genuinely surprised at the question, hands paused holding the bottle of Vermouth.

'Huh. I’d hardly noticed I was doing that’

She shrugged.  
'You always tend to call people by their full names – Lucian, Dorothea, Alexander – but you don’t really call me 'Clarissa'. I was just wondering'

Magnus nodded, hands beginning to busy themselves again with their preparations.

'Clever girl. There actually is a story behind that, believe it or not'

  
**Fifteen years earlier**

  
_Magnus groaned as the fire message_ _dropped onto his desk. Fire messages usually only meant one thing – urgent help needed. A young Shadowhunter poisoned by Demon venom, or a spat between a vampire and a werewolf that would escalate to something dangerous without his intervention._  
_And there he was, having a peaceful evening for once – or at least, it felt like the first bit of peace he had gotten since becoming the High Warlock, two years earlier._

_Ah well._

_He put aside the ancient Aramaic text he’d been translating just for fun, and reached for the fire message, ready to summon his coat and portal immediately if necessary._  
_Instead, his brow furrowed as he read the message._

_“Hey Magnus,” it read, “It’s Luke Graymark. It’s been a while, I hope you’re well”_

_Magnus scoffed. Yes, it certainly had been a while. Five months since he’d last seen Luke Graymark, Jocelyn Fairchild – or Fray, or whatever she was calling herself now – and the little Clarissa, whose memory and Sight he’d been wiping ever since she was six months old._

_“I have a favour to ask, and I know it’s very short notice. Jocelyn and I have tickets to a show on Broadway this evening, but our usual sitter had pulled out. Something about prom dress shopping, I don’t know. Would you mind watching Clary for the evening?_

_I wouldn’t normally ask, but I don’t quite trust the other wolves in the pack enough yet, and Jocelyn doesn’t really have anyone to ask. It would just be for three hours or so! Let me know. Luke”_

_Magnus sat back and pondered the situation. He thought back to when he had last seen Luke and Jocelyn. They’d asked him how he was, and had shared a silent, secret look when he’d responded that he was feeling a bit low. They thought he didn’t notice._  
_Was this some kind of scheme? Get Magnus Some Company? He wouldn’t be at all surprised._  
_Either way, he couldn’t really say no. It’s not like he was busy, and they were probably genuine anyway._

_He sighed and flipped the letter upside down, writing his response on the other side before sending it away with the flick of a wrist. A few minutes later, another, smaller note arrived._

_“Great! I’ll drop her round around five. Thank you for this, Magnus! We owe you!”_  
_Magnus grunted and continued on with his translation._

 _Around five, the buzzer rang. He stood and stretched, then had a brief moment of panic when he remembered that he had absolutely no child-suitable food in the house. Then he remembered that he could summon some easily, and shook his head in disbelief. He was nervous, for some reason._  
_He strode over to the buzzer and pressed the answer button._

_‘Yes?'_

_The familiar voice came buzzing through the machine._

_‘Hey, Magnus. It’s Luke. I have Clary here’_

_'Come on up'_

_Magnus buzzed to let them in and then headed back to his desk to put the old text away before a three year old could get her grubby hands on it._

_Two minutes later there was a knock on his door, and he pulled it open to reveal the werewolf and the little red-headed girl. She was clutching a teddy bear with one hand, the other clutching on to Luke’s. Magnus couldn’t help smiling down at her._

_He looked up just in time to catch Luke’s pleased, almost-smug face. Definitely a scheme, then._  
_Magnus stepped back to let them into the loft. Once inside, Luke crouched down to Clary's level._

_‘Clary, this is Magnus. He’s our friend. He’s going to mind you for the night, okay? Just for a few hours. If you’re good, he’ll put Sesame Street on for you'_

_The little girl nodded, and Luke rose, wincing as his joints cracked a little._  
_Magnus raised an eyebrow._

_'Getting old, Lucian?'_

_Luke shrugged good-naturedly._

_'Not all of us can be forever young'_

_He looked down at Clary as he spoke, eyes softening. He really was Clary’s father, in all the ways that counted, Magnus realised. He tried and failed to ignore the jealous ache in his chest. Magnus was hundreds of years older than Luke, and had hundreds of years ahead of him, yet here was one thing Luke had that he had never experienced._

_Luke reached down and ruffled Clary’s hair before heading out the door._

_'Back around eight, Magnus. Thanks again, we really appreciate it!'_  
_The door shut, leaving Magnus alone with Clary._

 _He tried to think back to the last time he really, properly had to mind a child, and found that he couldn’t._  
_He stooped down, extending a hand to Clary._

_‘I’m Magnus'_

_Clary laughed, a bright, soft sound as she let Magnus shake her hand._  
_Magnus couldn’t help but smile at her._

_'Well, I hear that you like Sesame Street. Want me to put it on for you?'_

_Clary thought seriously for a moment, then spoke up'_

_'Can I have some candy?'_

_Magnus nearly laughed._  
_‘Of course you can. I'm sure you deserve a treat. Come on in to the kitchen’_

 _She followed him there. As they stopped in front of the cupboard, Magnus abruptly remembered what he’d been panicking about earlier. He really did have nothing good to eat in the house. It didn’t help that he’d actually been in London the past week, consulting at the Institute._  
_An idea suddenly came to him, as he remembered all the tea he’d had between meetings. He summoned some English chocolate Bourbon biscuits onto a plate and presented it to Clary._

_She reached out a small hand and took one curiously._

_'A cookie?'_

_'Yep. These come from England. They call them biscuits there'_

_Clary took a bite, and Magnus watched as he face lit up at the taste of the powdery cocoa._

_'Nice?'_

_Clary nodded enthusiastically, and Magnus handed the plate to her._

_'You take those out to the sofa and I’ll put the TV on for you'_

_She did as he suggested, pulling herself up onto the sofa with some difficulty and nestling back amongst the cushions. Magnus turned the TV on and flicked around until he found Sesame Street. Clary was immediately transfixed._

_Magnus smiled and went to pick up his translation again. He brought it over and continued on with it._

_The evening passed quickly with a little bit of company. They sat together on the sofa, plate of Bourbon biscuits between them. The flat seemed a whole lot less lonely now, with the chatter of the TV and Clary’s occasional laugh the soundtrack to Magnus’ work._

_When Luke came back around eight o clock, Magnus was sad to see them go._

 

'Luke and your mother left you with me often, after that, whenever they wanted a break. Your visits always managed to cheer me up. And without fail, every single time you showed up at my door, the first thing you asked for was a biscuit. I started calling you that after a while, and I guess it must have stuck”

  
Magnus put the finishing touches on the cocktails. He turned around then, smiling, and handed something to Clary.

  
She looked down at the plate of the familiar chocolate biscuits.

  
The realisation of how lonely it must be to live forever suddenly came to her. She thought of Magnus, and how he’d been forced to watch her grow up from a distance, getting to know her bit by bit before inevitably wiping her memory clear of him. She thought of all the lost hours in Magnus’ company. She couldn’t remember them, but she was sure Magnus did.  
She looked up.

  
Magnus was watching her expectantly, smiling as he waited for her reaction.

  
She placed the plate to one side and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He huffed a little in surprise before returning the hug, squeezing her gratefully.

‘I’m glad I get to know you now, Magnus'

She felt him smile against her hair.

‘I’m glad too, Biscuit'

She let him go, and took one tray of drinks from him with a grin.

  
He took the other one, and then the two of them headed out the terrace, and the sunset, friends, and lovers that awaited them.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm now on Tumblr! Follow me at calmbeforeastorm.tumblr.com and send me a prompt :)


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